"Sweden" by C418 - Musical Analysis #1
I remember back in my childhood being so fond of Minecraft that it would be one of the best feelings of my life when my cousin booted up the Xbox 360 console. In a world full of digitalized cubes that gave players endless imagination and creativity, there were soundtracks that blended in perfectly in the background to create an immersive atmosphere. There were a few songs that stood out to me so much that I taught myself how to play them on the piano, one of them being "Sweden", which gives me a nostalgic feeling from my childhood. "Sweden" is a song composed by Daniel Rosenfeld, widely known as C418, to be included in a soundtrack for the popular game Minecraft. The piece was released in 2011 as part of the album called Minecraft Volume Alpha.
One of the musical elements in this piece that I thought stood out is dynamics. The song begins very quietly and barely noticeable, while building up in volume until reaching the chorus and maintaining it for some time, until fading out. Then it fades in slowly for what seems to be the bridge before going into the melody with more volume, until it finally fades out at the end of the song.
Another musical element that is important for this song is the simple and repeating melody that makes it a memorable piece. There are some variations of the melody throughout the song that makes it more interesting and calming to listen to. This song gives a feeling of loneliness and wonder as the player explores the vastness of the world without a companion to walk with.
The third and last musical element that is important is timbre, because of this song's minimal use of instruments that make this piece very recognizable along with other songs of the same album. The main instrument is the piano which is played throughout the song while being accompanied with synth.
Sources:
C418 AllMusic https://www.allmusic.com/artist/c418-mn0003410701#songs
C418's "Sweden", Reviewed by Roman Lenz - The Wolf Post https://www.thewolfpost.org/home/c418s-sweden-reviewed
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ReplyDeleteThis song is heard often in my household. My kids love to play Minecraft. Now I know this blog is about a song from the game, but I'm curious if you've heard the songs from the new movie. My kids love it and we listen to it in the case during carpool. It helps them have a good day at school and send to be a good brain break for them with how simple the lyrics are.
ReplyDelete-Taylor Davis
I really liked your post! I totally agree that the dynamics in “Sweden” make it feel so calming and nostalgic. I also think the repeating melody is super memorable. It’s one of the things that makes the song stick with you even after you stop playing Minecraft. One thing I thought was interesting is the way the chords and background synth add to the feeling of space and "loneliness", even though it’s such a simple song.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post. I like Minecraft and the music.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate what you said about the quietness of the song and its slow building. It is a strength of the song, I think, that it never grows obnoxiously loud or bold. In most video game soundtracks I have listened to (which are, I must admit, few in number), the songs played generally sound exciting and packed with lots of volume. Given the nature of Minecraft as a fundamentally creative game, however, a restrained soundtrack helps to remind the player of the game's visual beauty without being too distracting. I am not so sure about your comment on the loneliness of the song--I always felt it was more inviting. I certainly agree with you on the song's sense of wonder, however. Altogether, the song is very nostalgic to me; I don't play Minecraft much these days, and I only listened to the song a few times as a beginning player before turning it off in the game menu.
ReplyDeleteYou might find this article below interesting. It talks about Rosenfield's journey as a musician, and describes further how the music fits the game. It helped give me a broader perspective of the song, not just as a quiet little collection of notes, but as an important fragment of a player's journey as they traverse the vast world of Minecraft.
https://web.archive.org/web/20180808234140/https://killscreen.com/articles/quiet-importance-minecraft-soundtrack/
-Ethan Bowser
I really enjoyed the song that you picked for your post! I don't play a lot of video games and so it is always interesting to learn about the songs that come from them. I particularly liked listening to "Sweden" because I enjoyed the slow piano and the little addition of the synth. Something that I noticed was that the tempo is quite slow. Do most video game songs tend to be like that? Do you like that quality of the song?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the melody. It’s simple and repeats in a way that makes it instantly memorable, but the small changes keep it from feeling boring. That’s why it fits Minecraft so well, it can loop while you explore and still feels calm, a little lonely, and nostalgic.
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